Subsidized counselling practice faces possible budget crunch

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County Counselling, which provides subsidized mental health counselling to Strathmore residents, will be losing a portion of a funding next year, as a provincial grant is set to expire.

The counselling practice, which also has an office in Drumheller, started in 2017 to provide mental health support to the area. Since then, it has grown to include two locations and 17 staff, associates and students. It provides services for mild or moderate mental health concerns only; more severe mental health concerns are handled by Alberta Health Services.

Wheatland County Counselling offers subsidized counselling services, funded by local municipalities. To access these subsidized services, residents must meet certain criteria to access the services, including not having third-party extended health benefits and demonstrating financial need.

In addition, the practice received one-time funding this year from the province to provide COVID-19 addictions and mental health support programs. However, this provincial funding is scheduled to end in September. That means that next year Wheatland Counselling is slated to lose 74 per cent of its 2021 funding, “and confirmation of funding is very important for program continuity, client care and staffing needs,” noted Rachel Dundas, director and founder of Wheatland County Counselling.

“Our 2021 funding from the municipality was not received this year until late March, and without the provincial funding that we had to bridge that gap, we would have turned away over 150 residents in need,” she said.

Dundas has asked Strathmore town council to include a line in the town’s 2022 budget and beyond for its subsidized mental health services. This would allow the practice to keep its staff in place and recruit students who work supervised in the program.